Conflicts of interest can develop from external activities with financial gains such as consulting, speaking engagements and commercialization of technologies developed from faculty research. These activities should be reported annually to the university and updated as necessary.
To an extent, such activities are encouraged and rewarded. But such activities should not interfere with an individual’s commitment, as well as decisions and actions from the university that could result in personal financial gain. Such a conflict or even appearance of such a situation should be avoided by faculty. If such a situation develops, the school/university should develop a management plan to minimize its impact or action to be taken to eliminate it.

Catherine Sedota
Email: cmp9@buffalo.edu
Phone: 716-844-9282